Notes for September 2008

Number of items in this month's catalogue: 10

We told you in July that the June cover item, Wagenaar on Etcetera, would finally be in the country by early August. As of mid-August, Etcetera's distributor told us that not only had the shipment not left Etcetera for its Belgian exporter, but that they did not expect to receive anything from Etcetera at any time in the near future. This has much to do with the weak dollar and the reluctance of European labels to, essentially, give their product away to the U.S. when they can sell it for literally twice as much on the continent. U.S. distributors are reluctant to pay what the Europeans demand since that would lead to retail prices of $21-26. So, is selling nothing better than selling something? You tell us...